Not quite shot through the heart
by Milirin
Summary: "Oh my god! What happen? Axel, is Roxas okay!" Larxene's worried voice made Axel feel even guiltier than he already did. "He's gotten shot" AkuRoku hints of RenoxYazoo and ValenWind AU and major OOC-ness


Not quite shot through the heart

His head was spinning and his body trembling. He was so cold. Axel's voice was hardly making itself heard over the buzz in his ears. He could hear he was worried, though. He was too. What if they didn't get to the hospital in time? It hurt so much…

The pain had almost blinded him. Everything was blurry. And his crying didn't make things better. But he kept his eyes locked on the red blur he believed was Axel's hair.

"Hang in there! It's gonna be alright. We're soon there. Stay with me. Roxas, don't you dare leave me!" Axel drove while talking to the bleeding boy in the passenger seat. This was his fault!

"It's gonna be alright" he said again.

"Stay with me. Roxas, please! God! I'm so sorry!" He dried away a stubborn tear that made its way out. He kept driving and talking to the boy to make him stay conscious.

Two girls, Kairi and Namine, and four boys, Roxas, Sora, Yazoo and Reno, stood chatting by the parking lot, in wait for Yazoo's brother to come pick him up.

It was Friday in the middle of March and school was out for the week. The weather was mild and the sun made the snow melt and left the ground all slushy. The weather forecast was that it was going to be this mild all weekend, so the snow would probably be gone by Monday.

"Hey" Sora said, where he stood with his arms wrapped around Kairi.

"Mum and dad are gonna visit some friends this weekend and won't be home until Sunday. Anyone up for a movie night with sleepover?"

"Absolutely!" Kairi answered and nuzzled her face in the crook of his neck.

"Gotta ask mum" Roxas said and tossed his blonde fringe out of his eyes.

A car pulled up in the parking lot. Behind the wheel sat Kadaj, Yazoo's one year older brother. He and Yazoo was very much alike. Both had platinum blond hair, blue-green eyes and the same facial features. Though Yazoo's hair fell halfway down his back while Kadaj's only barely reached his shoulders. Kadaj was also shorter than Yazoo, which made it hard to believe he was the older.

"We'll definitely come, yo" Reno said before climbing into the backseat of the car. He practically lived at Yazoo's place, which wasn't all too strange, since they were a couple. Kadaj smiled and waved before driving off again.

"Call me when you've asked, Roxas" Sora said.

"Sure"

"See you later then" Kairi said and she, Sora and Namine headed their way.

"If mum allows me" Roxas answered and went his way. He lived alone with his mum in a house, around two kilometres from the school. He had never met his father but both he and his mum were happy as it was.

Roxas shifted his books to the other arm. He had forgotten his schoolbag at home and had to carry his homework books and a folder with artwork. He reached into his pocket for his mp3, when the wind caught hold of his papers and they flew away. He swore and began picking them up as quickly as he could so they wouldn't be destroyed by the slush. Some papers had ended up in the street and Roxas quickly looked around for cars before he ran out to get them.

Axel had had a rough day at work, even though his work most included carrying mail, coffee and direct people to the right offices. But it had been a total rush today. Lots of mail to deliver, and that meant a lot of coffee too, and the visitors had been many too. He was glad that this was his last month and that he would start as apprentice at a carpenter's in the middle of next month.

He hummed along to the CD in the car's newly bought CD-player as he turned a corner, and hit the breaks. There was a kid in the middle of the street! He seemed just as surprised as Axel and there was a thump as the car hit the boy.

"Shit!" Axel unfastened his belt and jumped out of the car. The kid arose and brushed slush off his clothes. He had messy, blonde hair and blue eyes.

"Sorry, you okay?" Axel asked and started to help him pick his stuff up.

"Yeah, I'm fine" he smiled shyly and picked up a folder, winced and dropped it.

"Maybe a sprained wrist. Nothing serious" he said.

"Really, sorry. I didn't see you" Axel apologised and picked up the folder too.

"Just as much my fault. I was the one who stood in the middle of the street" the boy mumbled.

"Can I give you a ride home?" Axel asked. The boy hesitated a little and glanced at him. He tried to look as trustable as possible. Which wasn't hard when he had the boy's books in his arms already.

"Okay" he said. Axel nodded and gestured for him to the passenger's side and he climbed in. Axel climbed back into the driver's seat and handed her books over. _He's pretty cute_, he thought in passing as he started the car up again.

"Where do you live?" The boy told him the address and Axel started driving.

"My name's Roxas, by the way" the boy mumbled and smiled shyly again.

"I'm Axel" Axel answered.

Roxas glanced at Axel through the corner of his eye. He wore torn jeans, a black hoddie and his hair was a vicious red colour and reached just below his shoulders. He had two small tattoos below each green eye. He had a slim body frame but was still quite muscular. _He's pretty good looking,_ Roxas thought and blushed slightly as Axel threw him a glance.

"You sure it's just sprained?" he asked.

"Yeah" They were silent for a while and Axel turned onto Roxas' street. Roxas listened with half an ear to the CD when he suddenly recognised the song.

"You listen to Freak kitchen?" he asked in surprise.

"Yeah. I guess by that, that you do too?" Roxas nodded.

"'Organic', right?" he asked. Axel smiled and nodded.

"Yeah" he picked up the CD case from between the seats and showed it to Roxas. He was glad he got something else to look at than Axel. He made him feel shy and he hated that. He put the case down again and looked out through the window.

"There it is" he said and pointed to his house. Axel pulled the car to a stop in front of it and Roxas picked his books up with his unharmed arm. He tried to open his door, but failed and winced as pain struck his wrist.

"Here, let me" Axel said and leaned pass Roxas and opened the door. Roxas felt a sort of spicy scent from him.

"I don't wanna intrude, but I know a thing or two 'bout sprains. May I take a look at it?" Axel continued as Roxas started moving out of the car.

"'Kay" he said and nodded. Axel killed the engine and walked after Roxas to the door. He managed to open it and Axel followed her into the house.

"We got a first aid kit in the bath room. Should be a bandage roll in there" Roxas said and went to get it. Axel waited in the kitchen. Roxas came back shortly after. He gave Axel a sheepish smile.

"Can't lift it" he said. Axel smiled a little and followed him and picked the kit down. He took out a roll of bandage and they went back to the kitchen again. Roxas hopped up on the counter and Axel took a look at his wrist. It was a little swollen, but wasn't badly sprained. Axel bandaged it.

"Keep it bandaged for a couple of days. It's not serious, so I guess it'll be okay by Monday" Roxas nodded.

"'Kay, thanks" Axel smiled and looked at the clock.

"I gotta go. Take care" He said and patted his shoulder.

"Sure, bye" Roxas answered and cursed inwards at how shyly he acted.

Axel left the house and Roxas heard him drive off. He wondered if he would see him again sometime.

Roxas' mum, Larxene, came home about an hour later. She had been at the store and Roxas helped her put the groceries away. She got sight of the bandage as Roxas put the serials in a cabin.

"What's happened to your wrist?" she asked. Roxas smiled sheepishly.

"Got hit by a car"

"Oh dear, you didn't get hurt bad, did you?"

"Not more than a sprained wrist. I dropped some papers and they blew out in the street. I checked for cars before I went to get them, but the guy came around a corner. He drove me home and bandaged it for me"

"Hm, seems like he apologised at least. You have to be more careful, hunny" Larxene said and ruffled Roxas' hair.

"I'm glad it wasn't more serious" She put the last milk bottle in the fridge and closed it.

"So, you got any plans for tonight?"

"Yeah, Sora's parents aren't home this weekend so he asked if we wanna have a sleepover at his place tonight"

"And when do you want to be there?"

"As soon as possible" Roxas grinned. His mum smiled back.

"Alright. I guess that's okay. Are you going to eat there?" Roxas shrugged.

"Probably. But I guess it's gonna be pizza"

"Anything's better than nothing. Go pack your stuff and I'll drive you"

Roxas called Sora when he sat in the car. Sora picked up almost immediately and Roxas guessed he had been waiting for him to call. He heard Kairi and Namine laugh in the background.

"I'm on my way now"

"_Great! We're trying to decide what movie to watch before we grab something to eat, shall we wait for you before we decide?"_

"Yeah, do that. I'll be with you in a couple of minutes." He was just about to say bye as two practically loud voices was heard at the other end, followed by squeals from Kairi and Namine.

"_Leon and Cloud__ are here too. And they're attacking people!" _Sora explained and his grin could almost be heard. His brothers were two years older than him, twins and two of the nicest guys Roxas knew. They had never been bothered to be around Sora's friends who were four years younger than them.

"They gonna stay all night?" Roxas asked hopefully.

"_Think so. They got__ Cid and Vincent along and…hey, give that back!" _there was a rustle before someone else spoke.

"_Hiya Roxy! How're you doing?" _Roxas chuckled.

"Hi Cloud" It was the younger twin.

"I'm fine and with you in a minute" he thought he heard Sora complain to Cloud to give his phone back. He could imagine how it looked, with Cloud backing away from Sora who made attempts to get his phone out of his brother's hand, while Cloud used his free hand to fend him off.

"And one more thing; don't call me Roxy. It sounds like a dog's name"

"_Alright, I won't"_

"I guess you aren't returning Sora's phone yet, so have fun 'til I get there" Cloud gave an okay-ish answer before Roxas hung up.

Around two the following Saturday afternoon, Roxas decided it was time to go home. He said good bye and began walking. Larxene had said she could come and get him when he wanted to come home, but he was used to walking. It wasn't all that far between his place and Sora's anyway.

The weather was still mild and the ground still slushy. Roxas walked as far away from the street as he could, so no car would splash dirty slush on him. He was lost in his own thoughts and jumped when a car stopped a couple of meters in front of him and honked. The side-window was rolled down and Roxas saw Axel.

"Hi Roxas!"

"Hi"

"How's the wrist?"

"Much better, thank you" Axel nodded.

"Good. Want a ride home?"

"Sure" Roxas said and climbed into the passenger seat.

He couldn't for the life of him understand why he said yes. Axel still made him feel all shy. But then again, if a ride home included someone as good-looking as Axel, he had no interest in walking. He couldn't deny it, he really though this guy was handsome. Besides, he already knew he was bisexual, so he thought it okay for him to think that way of Axel.

"Where've you been?" Axel asked and nodded towards Roxas' bag.

"Sleepover at a friend's place. But I can't say I've slept much" he grinned. They had stayed up until half past four and then slept, littered over the sofas in Sora's living room. Leon and Cloud and their two friends hadn't probably slept at all though, and had woken everyone up by nine with breakfast.

"I know the gig" Axel said with a knowing grin.

An idea hit Roxas as Axel pulled up on his street. He didn't know how his mum would respond, but he hoped it was for the better.

"Ehm, would you like to stay for dinner? I'm sure mum won't mind" he asked, a little shy again.

"A little sudden, but it would be nice. Thank you" Axel grinned and stopped the car in front of the house and they stepped out of it. Roxas led the way inside.

Larxene looked up from the book she was reading when she heard the front door open and close. She was sure there was more than one person there, but she waited until they showed up in the living room.

Behind Roxas came a guy Larxene hadn't met before. He looked to be around twenty, had vicious red hair in a spiky mess, green eyes and wore torn jeans and a black hoddie.

"Mum, this is Axel. The guy who hit me with the car" Roxas introduced the guest. Larxene rose from the sofa to greet him properly.

"Well, yes, I'm his mum. Larxene's my name" she shook Axel's hand.

"Please try not to hit more people with the car, will you?" Axel chuckled.

"I won't" he said.

"And I'm really sorry I happened to hit Roxas"

"Mum, I invited him to stay for dinner" Roxas said. Larxene blinked.

"Oh, okay. That's fine. But I wasn't planning on making anything yet. Are you very hungry?" Roxas shook his head.

"Not me anyway. Axel?"

"No, I ate breakfast, not too long ago" Roxas smiled and started walking towards the stairs.

"C'mon" he said to Axel.

They reached Roxas' room and entered. He had a couple of posters with his favourite bands on the walls, a bookcase stuffed with books and CDs, a closet, an unmade bed and a laptop and a digital tablet sat upon his desk, surrounded by piles of papers and homework.

"Well, here I live" Roxas said and flopped down on the bed. Axel sat down on the chair by the desk and there was an embarrassed pause. Axel's gaze roamed around in the room until it stopped at a flipped open sketch pad on the desk. He picked it up and looked at the picture.

"It's not really finished yet" Roxas said.

"It's good. Can I look through it?" Roxas nodded and Axel started flipping through the pages. Roxas rose and walked over to stand beside him. He started telling about the pictures. Axel listened, fascinated over the great pieces of art in the sketchpad.

"You're a great artist!" he said. Roxas blushed slightly.

"Thanks. I got some more on the 'puter, if you wanna see?"

"Sure!" Roxas started the lap top up and showed some more pictures he had made with the tablet.

"Wow, these looks like photographs!" Roxas laughed a little and shifted his weight to the other foot. Axel noticed it and straightened up on the chair.

"Here, take a seat. Looks uncomfortable to stand up" Roxas blushed a little and sat down in Axel's lap.

"How long have you drawn?" Axel asked. Roxas shrugged.

"I dunno. Since always I think. Do you draw or anything?" Roxas asked and looked at Axel over his shoulder.

"No, not really. I try sometimes, but I'm not very good. Though I play some guitar when I feel like it"

"Okay. Hey, will you model for me?"

"What?" Roxas grinned a little.

"Will you model for me?"

"Uh, I guess. What do you want me to do?"

"Just go sit down on the bed" Roxas directed and rose. He grabbed his sketchpad and a pencil and began sketching.

Later on, when dinner had been finished, Larxene was off to go to her book club and Roxas and Axel went to the living room.

During the dinner, Axel had gotten to tell about his work, where he lived and stuff like that. Larxene seemed to like him, which felt as a relive to Roxas, for some reason.

"Wanna see a movie?" Roxas asked.

"Sure" They decided for The Two Towers and Roxas curled up in his favourite spot in the sofa.

Roxas felt the tiredness come over him and he shifted to keep awake. He was now sitting upright, with Axel to his right and the arm of the sofa to his left. When they came as far as to the appearance of the oliphants, Roxas started to doze off again. He jerked his head up for the fifth time and he saw Axel smirk a little at him, through the corner of his eye. He grunted and shifted place again. After a bit of hesitation, he leaned his head on Axel's shoulder. He didn't seem to mind and put his arm around him. If Roxas wasn't so tired he would have blushed again.

"Hey" he slurred and picked up his cell phone.

"Can I get your number?"

"Okay, if get yours" Axel said with a smile. Roxas grinned and let Axel write his number. He saved it and then wrote his own number on Axel's phone. Then he leaned his head on Axel's shoulder again. _He smells wonderful_, he thought dozily and yawned.

Axel felt Roxas sag more and more against his shoulder and smiled. The lack of sleep last night was catching up to him. He looked down at him. His eyes were closed and his face calm.

"Roxas?" he asked. No response. He smiled. He had fallen asleep. _He really is cute! _He thought. He turned off the movie and carefully moved Roxas so he was lying on the sofa and put a blanket over him before finding some paper and a pencil and wrote a message to him.

"_You fell asleep. I didn't want to wake you up, so I left. I had a really good time with you. Thanks. Axel._"

He stroke his hair briefly before leaving.

"Jeez Axel" he said to himself as he sat in the car.

"If I didn't know better I'd say I'm in love with him" He had only met him twice and hardly knew anything about him. Plus, their age gap of four years would make things complicated.

Roxas sat up groggily. He was laying in the sofa with a blanket over him and the TV was turned off.

"Axel?" he said. No answer. A note on the table caught his attention. He picked it up and read it. Then he looked at the clock. He must have been asleep for maybe an hour, he guessed. Larxene was going to come home anytime now. Roxas sighed and went up to his room. He flopped down in front of the desk, picked his sketch pad up and flipped up the latest picture.

He was really pleased with how it had turned out. Axel was a natural on taking good poses. Roxas had told him that and he had felt a bit silly. He smiled as he placed the pad back on his desk. He had to get Axel to model for him again!

Axel put the phone to his ear with a smile on his face. It had been a week since he got to know Roxas. And it had been four days since he realised that his friends, Leon and Cloud, were friends of his too. He had been to his place a couple of more times and had gone to the cinema along with all their other friends two days ago.

Right now he was looking for a new place to live. His apartment was too expensive for the pay he had and he had, by coincidence, stumbled over this paragraph at the store. He didn't only like this one because of the closeness to his work, but the rent was cheep enough for him and he would live quite close to Roxas too.

Someone picked the phone up at the other end and for a second Axel felt very nervous.

"_Larxene_"

"Hi Larxene, it's Axel"

"_Hello there! Roxas isn't home right now"_ Axel's smile grew a little.

"I actually wanted to talk to you" he said.

"_Oh?_"

"Yeah. I saw your paragraph in the store" Larxene laughed.

"_I know what you're thinking_" she said.

Roxas came home from school and got sight of Axel's car outside their house. Axel's car with a trailer attached to it. He frowned at it and a small fear planted itself in him. _Is he moving away and came here to say bye? _He thought. He crossed the street and suddenly it hit him. He almost started laughing.

"No way!" he hurried the last part and almost jumped through the door. Axel and Larxene stood in the entrance and Larxene was just handing a key over.

"No way!" Roxas said again.

"Way" Axel grinned.

"I'm moving in"

Axel parked in front of the emergency ward, jumped out of the car and hurried around to the passenger side. He opened the door and carefully took Roxas in his arms.

"It's okay Roxas" he mumbled. He kicked the door shut and headed towards the ward.

"We're here now, everything's gonna be okay. Just don't leave!" Axel kicked the automatic door-opener and went inside.

"Help! He's been shot!" he shouted as he came inside. There was a nurse behind a desk and she jerked her head up when Axel shouted.

Roxas noticed there was a fuss around him. His vision had blurred more and was starting to get dark. He couldn't hear Axel's voice anymore, but he knew it was there, somewhere. He felt that he was put down on something and a mask was placed over his nose and mouth. Now he knew he was at the emergency ward and he relaxed a little, and the darkness closed around him.

"Sir, you must wait here" the nurse said to Axel. He really didn't want to, but he didn't have a choice. Besides, he needed to call Larxene. He headed back out to the car to find his cell, which he had just tossed aside earlier. He felt a sting in his chest as he saw the blood in the passenger seat.

He found his cell and called Larxene's number. He didn't really know what to say, but Larxene needed to know. It was after all her son that had been shot!

"_Larxene_"

"Hi, it's Axel" Axel began with thick voice.

"_Oh, hi! How are you__? You sound a little weird" _Axel felt hot tears burn behind his eyelids. He pulled a hand through his hair and sat down on the hood of the car.

"I'm fine, it's…it's Roxas. He's…" he cut himself off and took a deep breath. Larxene must have figured that something was wrong.

"_Oh my god! What happen? Axel, is Roxas okay?" _Larxene's worried voice made Axel feel even guiltier than he already did.

"He's gotten shot" he said weakly and he felt the first tear fall down his cheek. It was so unreal! Larxene gasped, then took a couple of deep breaths.

"_Is he…alive?" _she whispered. Axel heard that she too had start crying. He nodded, then remembered she couldn't see him.

"Yes. They took him into surgery right away"

"_I'm coming as fast as I can!_" She hung up. Axel lowered the phone from his ear. The tears were running freely over his cheeks now. _How could this happen? It's all my fault!_

Roxas sat curled up in the sofa, watching some random movie on the TV, but he wasn't really paying attention. The move was too boring and he was busy with his own thoughts.

Axel had lived at their place for three month now and Roxas still couldn't get him off his mind. During the three months he had gotten to know him better and better and had come to realise he was in love with him. But he didn't know if Axel felt the same, or even if he swung that way.

He sighed and checked the clock. Larxene wasn't going to come home yet in a couple of hours and neither would Axel. He was at some party somewhere. Roxas had hanged out with his friends the whole afternoon, but had been alone since nine. He didn't mind though. He was going out with his friends tomorrow again.

The front door was suddenly opened. Roxas frowned.

"Hello?" he called.

"Hi" came the answer. It was Axel. _What's he doing home so early?_ Roxas turned his head to see Axel walk into the living room and flop down in the sofa beside him.

"You're home early" Roxas commented. Axel grunted with a shrug.

"Got bored" he said. Roxas nodded and turned back to the TV. They both watched the movie in silence for a while. Then Axel suddenly flung his arm around Roxas shoulders. He didn't complain and leaned against him and inhaled his spicy scent. It was mixed with something else. Alcohol.

"Are you drunk?" he asked and pulled away from him. He shook his head.

"Not really"

"What kinda answer's that?" Roxas asked.

"Either are you drunk or else you're not. So, are you drunk?" Axel turned his head towards him and grinned sheepishly.

"Guess you're right. I think I am a little drunk" Roxas rolled his eyes and flinched as he felt Axel cup his chin.

"What are you doing?" he asked. Axel answered by leaning in and placing a light kiss on his lips. His eyes widened in chock.

"What was that?" he asked, voice shivering.

"Felt like it" Axel answered quietly.

"Have I ever told you how cute you are?" He leaned in again and Roxas pulled back a little. The arm Axel had around his shoulders stopped him and Axel placed another kiss on his lips. This time he felt his tongue slide lightly along his bottom lip and he froze. It wasn't unpleasant, just unexpected. He didn't know what to do, but his whole body was tingling. He slowly parted his lips a little bit and Axel took the opportunity. He tasted like alcohol and mint.

Axel pulled Roxas an inch closer and felt him tense again. He moved the hand he had cupped his chin with, down his neck to his shoulder and with a swift move, he lay him down on the sofa.

Roxas began panicking. Things were going way too fast! Axel's hand had moved to his stomach. He pushed at his shoulder and he broke off the kiss and raised an asking eyebrow.

"Don't" Roxas said, feeling his cheeks heat up.

"Alright" Axel took his hand away from Roxas' stomach. Then he moved his head closer, to kiss him again. Roxas turned his head to the side.

"Axel, get off me! You're drunk!" He called. Axel paused, then moved off him. He pulled away from him, getting as much space between them as the sofa allowed. Axel rose with an irritated groan.

"I'll be…out" He went out to the entrance and pulled his shoes and long, black coat on again. Roxas shuddered as he left the house again. He touched his lips, almost without noticing. Could it be that Axel liked Roxas the way Roxas liked him? He had said he was cute. Though he didn't really like the thought of being cute.

But the thought of that made him happy. Then again, Axel had been drunk. If he hadn't struggled, who knew where it could have ended? Was it just because he was drunk that he had done and said that? Roxas shook his head and turned the TV off. There was no point in staying up anymore and he headed up to his room. He needed to think.

Axel picked up his cell as he walked. He called Leon.

"_Y'ello?" _

"Hi, it's Axel!" He had to yell to make his voice heard over the loud music in the background.

"_Hold on a sec!" _Axel heard Leon shout something to Cloud and the music was toned down.

"_So, now I hear you. What's up?_"

"I need a place to crash tonight"

"_Don't you live at Roxas' place?_"

"Well yeah, but I kinda…screwed up" He sat down on a bench beside the road and pulled a hand over his face.

"_Man, are you drunk?_"

"Yeah"

"_Holy crap! What'd you do?_"

"I just screwed up, okay? Can I crash at your place?" Leon was quiet for a second.

"_Well aren't you the sharing one. Should I come and pick you up?_"

"No, it's okay. I'm nearby already"

"_Okay. See you soon then. We'll put out an extra mattress for you_"

"Thanks"

Larxene came downstairs with a frown on her face. Roxas thought he already knew why. He had already noticed that Axel's coat and shoes weren't at the entrance. So he knew that Axel hadn't been on his room either.

"Didn't Axel come home last night?" Larxene asked. Roxas shrugged.

"He was here a short while, then headed out again. I dunno where to"

"Did something happen?" Larxene asked in concern. Roxas usually knew exactly where Axel was. Besides, he seemed oddly unwilling to talk about him today.

Roxas shook his head.

"No" he kept eating his breakfast. Larxene sat down across the table.

"Hunny, are you sure nothing happened? Because if he…"

"Nothing happened, mum" Roxas assured with a smile.

"He just came back for a while then said he'd be out. Maybe he stayed at a friend's place"

"Well, he could. It really isn't my concern anyway. He's a grownup, he can take care of himself" They ate the rest of their breakfast before Larxene went down to the basement to do some laundry and Roxas was left to clear the table.

It had only been a couple of minutes when he heard the front door open. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Axel. He had his back turned to him and was pulling off his shoes.

"Where've you been?" Roxas asked, in no practical manner. Axel jumped at the unexpected sound of his voice.

"Crashed at Leon's and Cloud's place" he mumbled. He hung off his coat and took a step into the kitchen. He avoided eye contact.

"Had breakfast?" Roxas asked. Axel nodded. Roxas finished up in the kitchen and was just about to head back up the stairs when Axel grabbed his arm. Roxas froze and glanced at him.

"I'm sorry" Axel said. Roxas saw the guilt in his green eyes. He turned away and cursed inwards as his cheeks heated up. Axel let go of his arm.

"I really am sorry. It's just…I've kinda liked you for a while and…alcohol makes people braver than usual and so on, you know. I didn't…mean to do anything. It just…I like you, a lot" Roxas nodded. He felt his stomach tingle as Axel said that he liked him.

"Don't worry about it" he mumbled. He glanced at Axel, knowing he had taken on a bright shade of red. Axel tilted his head to the side and frowned at him.

"I've…I like you too and…jeez!" he hid his face in his hands.

"I hate to be embarrassed like this!" he winced and turned his back to Axel. Then he felt a hand on his shoulder and he peered at Axel between his fingers. Axel had a hopeful expression on his face.

"You mean that?" he asked softly. Roxas nodded shyly. Axel wrapped his arms around his shoulders and leaned his cheek on Roxas' head.

"Thanks" he murmured. Roxas suppressed a squeak and turned around and nuzzled up against him. This was almost too good to be true. Axel liked him the way he liked him!

He inhaled his sent again, and grimaced a little.

"You need to shower" he sniggered. Axel snorted in amusement. Suddenly they heard Larxene come up from the basement and they shyly jumped away from each other.

"Hi Axel!" Larxene greeted. She was carrying a basket with clean clothes on her hip.

"Where have you been?"

"Slept as some friends' place" Axel answered.

"I got a bit drunk yesterday and didn't want to bother you with it" Larxene gave him an understanding smile.

"I see. Have you had breakfast?" she asked. Axel nodded.

"Yeah. I think I'm gonna go take a shower" He shot a small glare at Roxas. He sniggered and skipped up the stairs to get dressed. Larxene frowned a little at the sudden change of Roxas' mood.

"So, ready for the big come-out?" Axel asked as he parked the car near the park. Roxas smiled.

"Sure" They stepped out of the car and headed away to where they would meet the rest of their friends. They were holding hands as Namine got sight of them.

"I knew it!" she said triumphantly and jumped up from the bench.

"I knew you two were together!" Roxas and Axel took a seat in the grass.

"I've heard about people who hit on their date after just ten minutes" Cloud said with a grin.

"But you hit on him, literary, before you even knew him. With the car, moreover" Leon hit his twin in the back of the head.

"Goof" he said and Cloud stuck his tongue out at his five minutes older brother.

"How long have you been a couple?" Kairi asked.

"A month, today" Roxas answered.

"Does your mum know?" Namine asked.

"Actually not" Roxas answered.

"We've kinda kept it a secret until now"

"So you mean we're the first to know?" Vincent asked.

"Yeah. But I think we're gonna tell mum too, tonight" Roxas said. His hand found Axel's again, and they entwined their fingers.

"You're so cute" Reno grinned and did the same with Yazoo.

"Same back atcha" Roxas shot back. Reno stuck his tongue out and Yazoo rolled his eyes before kissing Reno's cheek.

"Hey, in speak of nothing, really" Cid said about an hour later.

"There's gonna be a disco next weekend. You guys wanna go?"

"When, where?" Leon asked.

"In the high school's assembly hall, starts eight o'clock, Friday night" Cid answered.

"Weren't we going to se grandma next weekend?" Sora asked.

"Who said that I and Cloud had to come along?" Leon said and grinned.

"Dad does" Cloud said and nudged Leon with his elbow.

"You, if someone, should pay attention when dad calls. Then again, he was talking to me that time" He dodged a hit from Leon.

"Anyway, I think we're gonna have to pass the disco"

"And the rest of you?" Cid asked.

"I don't have anything planned in then" Kadaj said.

"You're gonna go?" Yazoo asked. His big brother wasn't really shy, but he rarely spoke and didn't really hang out with much other people than those who were his brother's friends too. And crowded places were far from his favourite places. The cause of that was that for three years, from he was fifteen until he was eighteen, he had been used by some much older man.

"Thinking of it" Kadaj answered with a shrug.

"Great!" Cid smiled and patted Kadaj's shoulder.

"I think all of us, except Leon, Cloud and Sora, are gonna come" Kairi said. She was good at speaking for everyone.

Roxas checked his watch. Larxene was expecting them to come home and help her with cleaning the house.

"We need to go. See you next weekend then, if not sooner" Axel nodded and they said good bye.

"Two come-outs in one day" Axel said as they sat in the car again, heading back home.

"I guess this one's gonna be easier than the first one. At least I'm hoping for it"

"Me too" Roxas answered.

"I'm not really sure mum's gonna approve of it. But she likes you" Axel nodded.

"Yeah, I've noticed. That's gotta be something anyway" He pulled the car to a stop and killed the engine.

Larxene was rummaging around in the kitchen when they got inside. The radio was on and she was humming along to the song.

"Hiya!" she called. They greeted her back before going off to take care of their rooms.

About an hour later they were done and hit the living room.

"How're we gonna tell her?" Roxas asked quietly. Axel shrugged.

"I dunno. Straight on is an option" Roxas didn't have time to answer as Larxene came out to them with a mug of coffee and a book. She sat down in an armchair and looked at them over her reading glasses.

"How long is it you've been together now? A month, isn't it?" she asked. Their jaws dropped and they stared at her.

"You knew?" Roxas asked.

"I'm your mother and Axel is living here! Of course I knew! It was hard not to notice sometimes. Your cuddling, hugging and good night kissing made it pretty obvious"

"And you're okay with it?" Axel asked. Larxene nodded.

"It's fine. I just hope you won't get into trouble for it"

Axel sat in an uncomfortable plastic chair and stared at the floor. For three hours had he been here, but yet he hadn't gotten any news on Roxas. Larxene hadn't called again, but Axel knew she would show up any minute now.

A nurse had asked him to fill in some papers, which he had done as good as he could. When the nurse got them again, Axel had said that Roxas' mother would show up soon and that she could fill in the rest.

The door was suddenly swung open and Larxene hurried in. She got sight of Axel almost immediately and walked over to him. She looked scared and worried, but Axel knew he didn't look too good himself. He smiled briefly.

"Any news?" Larxene asked. She had been crying. Axel shook his head. Larxene sat down heavily beside him and sobbed quietly. Axel shifted in his chair and put a hand on her shoulder.

"What happened?" she asked quietly.

"How could she get shot?" If Axel wasn't mistaking himself he could have sworn there was hostility in her voice. He bit his lip, trying to figure out where to start. He pulled his hand back and rubbed at his face.

"It…kind of, is my fault" he mumbled. Larxene stared at him. Axel didn't have to look at her to know she was. He could feel it. He left his head in his hands and began to tell.

The music was heard all over the school's grounds as Axel parked the car. He and Roxas got out of it and headed for the assembly hall, where they would meet up with the others. Vincent and Cid, Kadaj, Yazoo, Reno, Namine and Kairi.

"There you are!" Namine shouted as she got sight of them.

"You're late!"

"Sorry! My fault" Roxas said.

"I had to shower. Shall we go inside?"

A lot of people where there, but the flashing lights made it impossible to tell exactly how many they were. There were at least over a hundred people.

The group found an empty spot by a wall and gathered up. Unfortunately, the music was too loud for talking, so they decided to dance instead. Namine and Kairi grabbed a hold of Kadaj, Reno danced with Yazoo, Roxas with Axel and Vincent and Cid, to everybody's surprise, danced together.

"I need to take a break!" Axel shouted, out of breath, to Roxas after maybe three songs. Roxas nodded and Axel went over to stand beside a couple of tables. Roxas danced on, and soon found herself dancing with Reno.

"Someone stole your boyfriend?" he asked.

"Yeah, Kairi did, yo" Reno answered.

"And Namine's got Kadaj. I think they like each other. Anyway, that leaves you and me" Roxas grinned and kept dancing. He really enjoyed dancing, even if it sometimes felt awkward in the beginning.

But even Roxas couldn't dance forever. He was soaked with sweat and out of breath. He got to a halt, panting.

"I'll go hook up with Axel" he said to Reno. He grinned at him, nodded and joined the dancing crowd again, probably heading to get his boyfriend back.

Roxas had a happy smile on his face as he turned around and started heading towards Axel. The smile froze and faded as his eyes landed on his boyfriend. And an unknown blonde. Axel was just leaning down over her where she sat by a table, and the two of them proceeded with making out. Roxas felt tears rise in her eyes as Axel put a hand on the back of the blonde's head. He didn't want to stay any longer. All his joy was gone. He elbowed his way to the door. He turned around just inside it and saw Axel turn around, wipe his mouth and look around, probably for him. He sobbed and ran outside.

"Hi there, handsome" Axel turned to face a blonde, sitting by the table beside him. She had a drunken grin on her face. The disco was supposed to be drug and alcohol free, so Axel guessed she had been drunk already when she got here.

"Hi" he muttered.

"You here by yourself?" she asked. She raised a hand and placed it on his forearm.

"No" Axel answered and pulled away.

"Friends or girlfriend?"

"None of your business" Axel scowled. The girl chuckled and took a hold of Axel's shirt.

"Boyfriend?" she purred. Axel faced her fully now.

"You're drunk and shouldn't even be here. Why don't you go home and get some sleep?" The girl just smiled slyly, then grabbed his shirt with both hands and pulled him down. Their lips crashed together and she forced her tongue into Axel's mouth. The surprise attack left Axel motionless for a couple of seconds, then he realised what the girl was doing and reached for her hair. He got a hold of her ponytail and pulled away from her.

"Leave me alone!" he spat at her.

"Fine, jerk!" she rose and strode off. Axel turned around, wiped his mouth and looked around for Roxas.

Yazoo and Reno were suddenly standing in front of him. Both were glaring at him.

"Nice move there, Casanova" Yazoo said dryly.

"What?" Axel couldn't seem to find Roxas. He hoped he hadn't seen him.

"Your _boyfriend _didn't seem to like you making out with another girl" Yazoo continued. Axel groaned.

"I didn't want to, okay? Where is he? I need to speak to him, now!"

"She ran off. Probably home. You're gonna need a lot of explaining, yo" Reno said. Axel scowled and ran past them, making his way to the doors.

"Expect her to be furious!" Reno shouted after him. Axel hardly heard it. _Damn it! Why did he have to see that? _

Roxas was a couple of hundred meters from home when Axel caught up to him. He put a hand on the blonde's shoulder and stopped him. He turned around and glared at Axel. He knew he had streaks of tears over his cheeks, but did nothing to hide it.

Axel panted a little before he spoke. He had been running to catch up to Roxas.

"I'm sorry you had to see that"

"Next time you wanna cheat on me, get the hell away from where I can see you!" Roxas snarled back. Axel flinched at the sharpness in his voice.

"That came out wrong" he said and tried again.

"She was drunk and hitting on me" Too late he realised what a lousy excuse it sounded like. _Crap! I'm just making it worse!_

"Seems like it worked" Roxas stated coldly. He spun on his heel and kept walking. Axel grabbed his arm and turned him around again.

"She was the one kissing me. I told her off, but she didn't listen. I don't even know her" Roxas' lower lip began to tremble and he pulled free from Axel.

"Excuses! I don't believe you" he said. Axel stared at him.

"Roxas…" he began. He searched his head desperately for something to say.

"Don't talk to me! I thought you loved me!" Roxas spun around again and started running. Axel ran after him, but as Roxas crossed the street, a car came and Axel had to stop. As it had passed, Roxas had already gotten inside. And probably locked the door. And Axel had left his keys in his room. Roxas wouldn't just let him in either, and Larxene wasn't home. He wouldn't get in tonight.

He felt hurt. Hurt that Roxas hadn't believed him. And sorry that he had hurt him. That was the last thing he wanted to do! He stood and stared at the house for a while before slowly heading back to the school. He had to ask Vincent and Cid if he could crash at their place.

Roxas slammed the door shut behind him, locked it and ran up the stairs to his room. He threw himself on the bed, buried his face in his pillow and cried. He wished that his mum would come and comfort him, but she was visiting Roxas' aunt this weekend and wouldn't come home before Sunday. Roxas could always call her, but he needed more than just talk.

He had thought Axel loved him, but he had kissed another girl. Knowing there was a chance that he could have seen him. And he hadn't even known the bitch!

Roxas cried himself to sleep.

To an outsider, Cid and Vincent was the worst possible match. They were the direct opposites of each other. Cid was loud and foulmouthed but smiling most of the time. Vincent was quiet, polite and a bit of a wallflower.

To those who knew them, their difference was what made them such a perfect couple. It had taken Axel quite a long time to realise that they actually were together, but when he knew he had found it to be impossible for them not to be.

Vincent took care of being polite and tidy for Cid and Cid took care of laughing and cursing for Vincent.

All that was rummaging around in Axel's head as he sat on the sofa in Cid and Vincent's apartment the following morning. Roxas hadn't tried to contact him, and he hadn't tried calling him either. He already knew he wouldn't answer.

Vincent had managed to lurk out of him what was going on and he and Cid had done their best to cheer him up.

"If I know him right he'll call anytime and ask what really happened" Vincent had said.

"When you have, I'm sure he'll forgive you" Cid filled in. Axel wasn't equally sure. Roxas had been pretty furious last night.

"Still haven't heard anything from him?" Cid asked and flopped down beside Axel on the sofa. He shook his head. Cid hummed and was just about to say something more when Axel's phone rang.

"Answer it! I know it's Roxas!" Cid said with a reassuring grin. Axel picked his phone up from his pocket and checked who it was. It was Roxas! A jolt of happiness shot through his body as he answered.

"Hiya" he said, a bit hesitantly. He heard a whimper from the other side of the line and frowned.

"Roxas, are you alright?"

"No" he whispered, pain in his voice.

"There was this guy…burglar…didn't know what to do. God, it hurts!"

"Roxas, calm down and tell me what's wrong" Axel said slowly. Cid looked up at him, noticing something was wrong. Even Vincent poked his head out from the bedroom to check what was going on.

Roxas sobbed.

"He…he sh-shot me!" he whispered and sobbed again. Axel could hardly believe it. It was just so…unreal.

"Just…don't move and try to keep pressure on it" he said and headed for the door.

"I'm coming as fast as I can! Don't hang up"

"Hurry the fuck up!" Roxas whimpered.

Axel hauled himself down the stairs and into his car, pulling it out on the street. He drove as fast as he dared while talking to Roxas to keep him conscious. He was crying and hissed of pain every now and then.

"There, I'm home!" Axel said as he hit the breaks outside the house. He hung up and tossed the phone aside. He didn't bother to kill the engine as he got out and ran into the house. The door was open, and Zvynx managed to catch a glimpse of the broken lock. He heard Roxsas' crying from the kitchen and headed for him. He was laying in the doorway between the living room and the kitchen, back against the counter and hands pressed to his stomach. There was blood on the floor around him. Axel grabbed a towel from the counter and kneeled down in front of Roxas.

"It's okay, I'm here" he said. He moved Roxas' hands and put the towel against the wound. He cursed his shaking hands.

"Axel" came a whimpering from the boy.

"God, Axel, it hurts!" Axel hushed him gently.

"It'll be alright" he said. "I'll drive you to the hospital and it'll be alright. Just stay with me" He picked him up and walked back to his car. Roxas whimpered as he was moved, but managed to hold the towel to his stomach until he was in the car. Axel used the seatbelt to hold the towel in place, but it was getting soaked quickly. Then he ran around the car and pulled it out on the street again.

Axel hadn't realised he was crying until Larxene was hugging him and leaning her head on his shoulder.

"Axel, hunny, it wasn't your fault! Don't for a second think that!" Axel didn't answer. He didn't know what to say. He wrapped an arm around Larxene and they sat like that, comforting each other for a while. The time seemed to go extremely slow. Every minute felt like an eternity.

Finally, after four and a half hour, a nurse came out from the surgery.

"Larxene?" she asked. Larxene tensed and looked up.

"Y-yes?"

"We have stabilized your son's condition. He's going to be fine. No vital organs had gotten hit" Larxene relaxed against Axel and he exhaled a breath he hadn't known he was holding.

"Thank god!" Larxene sighed and hugged Axel.

"Can we see him?" The nurse shook her head.

"Not yet, I'm afraid. He's still unconscious. I suggest you two go to the cafeteria and get something to eat. I'll tell you as soon as he is conscious" The nurse left again. Larxene and Axel sat in silence for a while, before Axel's empty stomach made itself noticed. He hadn't eaten since yesterday.

"Food doesn't sound too bad" he said with a weak laughter.

"I'll go buy us something"

"No, I'll come with you" Larxene said. They left the waiting area, feeling some of the tension loosen as they walked to the cafeteria. They bought a sandwich each and ate them quickly. They had just gotten back to the waiting area as the nurse showed up again.

"You may see him now" she said and led the way.

Axel grew more and more nervous as they walked. What would Roxas say? Would he forgive him?

"Here it is" the nurse said and opened a door. Larxene went in immediately and walked up to the bed. Axel followed slowly. Larxene took her son's hand and squeezed it lightly.

"Roxas?" she asked softly and stroke his cheek.

"Roxas, hunny, can you hear me?" Roxas' eyes fluttered open a little.

"Mum?"

"Yes, hunny, I'm here. Thank God you're okay!" She leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her son's forehead. Roxas was quiet for a while, blinking slowly and just seeming to take in what he could see and feel.

"Ow" he said finally and Larxene laughed a little. A faint smile appeared on Roxas' lips.

"How do you feel aside from that?" Larxene asked softly.

"Tired" Suddenly, he frowned and tried to look beyond Larxene.

"Where's Axel?" he asked, sounding almost worried. Axel had lingered in the background, but when Roxas asked for him he stepped up on his other side.

"I'm here" he said and took the teen's other hand. Roxas relaxed and closed his eyes again. He didn't fall asleep, but he was very tired and his body ached. He was glad that both his mum and Axel were there.

"Axel" he began and cracked his eyes open, turning his head slightly towards him.

"I'm sorry…for not listening" Axel shook his head.

"No, you've got nothing to be sorry for. The fault was mine" Larxene scowled at them both.

"This is not your fault, none of you. Yes, Axel has told me what happened. But that's the way love is, sometimes. You fight and almost breaks up, then talks it over and it's fine. I know, because I've been there. Your father and I fought a lot when we first got together"

"So there's a way to make up without getting shot?" Roxas said and laughed a little. Axel smiled and kissed the back of his hand.

"I love you Roxas" he said. Roxas blushed a little.

"I love you too" he said and right after that, the nurse came back in and said he had to rest. Both Larxene and Axel felt unwilling to leave, but the nurse urged them so Roxas could get some more rest.

Roxas hadn't more than gotten inside the door before he was swarmed by his friends.

"I'm so glad you're okay!" Kairi said and gave Roxas a careful hug.

"Axel told us what happened" She moved and Namine was the next one to hug him.

"He also told us you were getting home today, so we came here to welcome you" she said.

Roxas received hugs from all the rest of his friends and was wheeled into the living room. His jaw dropped at the sight in there. The whole room had been decorated and a banner hung on the wall, saying "welcome home"

"You didn't have to do all this" Roxas said, but he was touched.

"'Course we had!" Namine said.

"It's your welcome home-party! We missed you!" Roxas grinned.

"Thanks guys. Really, I appreciate it. I missed you too"

**AN: This was a story I wrote with my own characters from the beginning, so there could be some places where it says Zvynx, but that's supposed to be Axel. And it might say she about Roxas.**

**And I know I've mixed in characters that aren't from Kingdom Hearts. But I couldn't find better characters. Thanks for reading!**


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